Am I a LOL?

Sometimes, requests for certain cake designs are easy, and sometimes, not so much.  One request I got was for a birthday cake for two men, and I was told they like Snoopy and Angry Birds.  Hmmm.  What are Angry Birds?  And why are they angry?  I decided not to go with a Snoopy design, because if you don't make him look juuuuuust right, the cake may end up on Cake Wrecks.  (When professionally decorated cakes go hysterically wrong)   Nobody wants that (well, I sure don't, and I check this site every week to make sure I'm not on it.  And I usually end up laughing till I cry.)  

Luckily, I have an 11 year old boy who knows all about Angry Birds. 

Perfect.  My new consultant. 

He explained who all the birds were (the red ones, the triangle yellow ones, the blue ones), he explained the slingshot, and the eggs.

I watched him play this game for a while and figured out the design for the cake.  When hubby walked in and saw him playing the iPad, our son said "I'm helping Mom right now, really!"

I thought all the birds turned out really well, although my boy did say he thought the blue bird was too big.  My friend, Amber, said that my yellow bird looked like Bert, from Sesame Street. 

 Hee, hee, Angry Bert cake.

I brought the cake to my booth at the Farmers Market for pick up, and really enjoyed showing customers.  Pretty much, the only ones I had to explain who these angry birds were to, were, um, as hospital puts on their charts - the LOL's  (Little old ladies)

The middle child

I have a favorite little customer.  He likes his birthday cakes to be ... unique!

He is a middle child, much like myself (Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!) so I completely understand him.   We have older siblings who get all the 'firsts' and all the attention, and younger siblings who are 'the baby' and never get into trouble.  Tawn and Dan, you know I'm talkin 'bout YOU!   Sorry, I digress...

Back to my customer.  He has an older brother, and his cakes have been a football, and a football helmet.  He has a sweet little sister who likes Strawberry Shortcake, and pink and purple and sparkly things, and just recently, shoes!  Girl after my own heart...

But, last year, this little red headed boy asked for a watermelon!  So, I made a watermelon cake.  Strawberry cake with strawberry filling and chocolate chips to look like seeds.

  And then, he came over this year, and asked for a 'brain'.  So, after lots of research as to what brains look like, with help from my husband the doctor, I made a brain cake.  Chocolate cake with caramel buttercream filling.  I tinted the buttercream 'brain matter' grey.  Then, I added a tiny bit of red gel for blood.  I'll bet all the kids at the party loved it, and the parents were repulsed.  Sorry.

Homemade

I like to make things from scratch. Everything. If it can be made at home, I'll try it. S'mores are good, right?  But s'mores with homemade vanilla bean marshmallows on homemade graham crackers, made with real graham flour, are out of this world!

Vanilla extract is good, but vanilla extract made with tons of vanilla beans soaked in dark rum, or good vodka for about 5 to 6 weeks is sooo much nicer.

I have a couple of bottles up in my cupboard on a constant rotation, so I always have mature vanilla to put in my baked goods.  I found a great source on EBay for the beans, and now my pantry is stocked.

 

I like to know where my food came from.  If I make it myself, I always know the source.

Hello!

Well, it's taken me a few months but I am finally launching my blog! Welcome! My name is Darcy, I am the owner of Brown Butter Bakery, and I love my life! I have a wonderful husband (Jeff), an entertaining and energetic son (Gillis), 6 chickens, 2 outdoor cats (Harley and Tiger), and a new bakery business.

I worked in the Apparel industry for quite a few years as a Technical Fit Expert and Production Patternmaker, in California and Oregon (think Nike, Lucy, Cherokee) but now I make cupcakes and cookies (waaaay more fun). You know, making a pattern for a jacket and making a macaron are pretty similar. You really have to follow instructions and put it together in the proper order for it to turn out right.

I live in a small town, and the rule at school is "Store bought treats, only". We only have one store, and those cupcakes are the ones with the odd frosting that doesn't melt... yuck! 

I thought, "we need a good bakery in this town..."

So, I worked with the State of Oregon Department of Agriculture to license my home kitchen as a Domestic Kitchen Bakery. After numerous home inspections and a lot of work, it happened. I also had to get a Food Handlers permit, a business license, a county home occupation permit, liability insurance, and register my business name with the State of Oregon .... (whew) but, I DID IT!

I now offer custom made cookies, cupcakes, scones and cakes to the families in my community. I have a booth at our local Farmers Market on Saturdays in the summer. I get to set my own schedule and take on as much work as I want.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog, and seeing the fun cakes and other treats I get to make.